Canada
Summary: Canada became the first country to implement health warnings on cigarette packages when they initiated the use of warnings starting December 2000. Cigarette packages are required to have a health warning cover 50% of the front and 50% of the back of the package (one side in English and the other side in French, the two official Canadian languages). Overall, 50% of the package space is appropriated to health warnings. In addition to health warnings on the outside of packages, 1 of 16 rotated messages are required to appear on the inside of each cigarette package, either on the slide or on an insert. A set of 16 health warnings are rotated on packages. Canada also prohibits the terms "light" and "mild" from appearing on packages As well, Canada requires tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and benzene emission numbers to appear on the side of packages. Two numbers appear from each emission: one from the ISO and one from the Health Canada machine smoking method. |
Label Images
Click on the links below to access Canada's Health Warnings and Constituent Messages Galleries
Canada's Health Warnings Gallery
Canada's Constituent Messages Gallery
Legislation and Regulations
Listed below are documents relating to the implementation and regulation of picture-based health warnings in Canada, which came into effect in 2000.
Canada's Tobacco Products Information Regulation (2000)
Health Warnings Documents
A review of evidence on the effectiveness of text and pictoral warnings for Canada is listed below.
Reaching Smokers With Lower Educational Attainment (Government Report - Millar)
Canada
1996
Proposed New Labelling Requirements for Tobacco Products (Government Consultation Report)
Canada
1999
Health Warning Messages on the Flip, Side and Inserts on Cigarette Packaging (Government Report)
Canada
2000
Evaluation of New Warnings on Cigarette Packages (Canadian Cancer Society Report)
Canada
2001
A Review of the Research on Tobacco Warning Labels, With Particular Emphasis on the New Canadian Warning Labels (Report - Fong)
Canada
2002
Enhancing the Effectiveness of Tobacco Package Warning Labels a Social Psychological Perspective (Tobacco Control - Strahan et al.)
Canada
2002
Canada
2003
Beliefs and Attitudes (Chapter 7 from 2002 Health Canada YSS Report) (Chaiton et al)
Canada
2004
2004
Creative Concept Testing for Health Warning Messages (HC Government Report)
Canada
2005
Impact of Cigarette Health Warning Messages (Government Report Summary)
Canada
2005
Canada a New Angle on Packs (Tobacco Control - Hammond)
Canada
2006
Illustration-Based Health Information Messages Concept Testing (HC Government Report)
Canada
2006
Qualitative Testing of Health Warnings Messages (Government Report)
Canada
2006
Tobacco Denormalization and Industry Beliefs (Am Jour Prev Med - Hammond et al.)
Canada
2006
Canada
2007
Text and Graphic Warnings on Cigarette Packages ITC-4 study (Am Jour Prev Med - Hammond et al.)
Canada
2007
Canada
2007
Canada
2007
Canada
2008
Consumer Research on the Size of Health Warning Messages (CDN Adults) (Government Report)
Canada
2008
Consumer Research on the Size of Health Warning Messages (CDN Youth) (Government Report)
Canada
2008
Health Canada Research on Warning Message Size 2008 (Highlights of Government Report)
Canada
2008
Canada
2009
Constituent & Emissions Labelling
A review of evidence on the labelling and disclosure of chemicals found in tobacco products for Canada is listed below
Awareness and Understanding on Toxic Emissions Information on Tobacco Packaging (Focus Group Government Report)
Canada
2003
Toxics Information on Cigarette Packaging Results of a Survey of Smokers (Government Report)
Canada
2004
Relationship Between Constituent Labelling and Reporting of Tar Yields Among Smokers in Four Countries (Jour of Pub Health - O Connor et al.)
Canada
2006
Qualitative Testing of Toxic Emission Statements (Government Report)
Canada
2007
Prohibitions on Misleading Information
A review of evidence on the prohibition of deceptive and misleading information on Canadian tobacco products is listed below.
The Case for Plain Packaging (Tob Control - Cunningham and Kyle)
Canada
1995
Light Mild Cigarettes Who Smokes Them Are They Being Misled (Can Jour Pub Health - Ashley et al.)
Canada
2001
Investigating the Impact of New “Light” and “Mild” Related Messages on Cigarette Packages (Government Report)
Canada
2005
The Impact of Cigarette Package Design on Perceptions of Risk
Canada
2009
Presentations
Here is a link to a government presentation by Kaiserman et al. titled "The Evaluation of Canada's Health Warning Messages: 18 Month Follow-Up"
The Evaluation of Canada's Health Warning Messages: 18 Month Follow-Up Presentation (2003)